No Longer a Hero
by BeeBabyy
Summary: (Starting at a time just before the movie.) Tadashi has a girlfriend named Ellamire who has some tricky secrets of her own, which leads to dangerous decisions and a hell of a lot of lies. Eventually follows movie time-line and past that. TadashixOC Tadashi!Alive
1. Chapter 1

I pushed off the wall and grinned. Tadashi stood in front of Baymax, a disgruntled but content look on his face.

"It's progress. That's all that matters." He sighed, scratching under his ball cap.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow and took a step or two closer to him and the giant marshmallow of a robot. "The flailing arms could have fooled me." I made a couple crazy arm gestures, imitating what the robot had done when Tadashi activated it.

"You know, you should watch out." I gave him a sceptical look. "If you say the," Tadashi lowered his voice and leaned in. "_magic word,_ your personal care assistant might come to life to check if you're okay." I laughed and Tadashi shook his head at the robot.

"What magic word?" I came to stand beside him, gazing at Baymax, then back at Tadashi when he didn't answer. Tadashi smiled softly, and put a lock of my pale pink hair behind my ear.

"_Ow_!" I yelped, as his fingers pinched my neck. "What was that for-"

Baymax suddenly began to move, making a whirring sound and began to waggle his arms towards us in a similar way as before. I squealed and hid behind Tadashi as he fought to shut it back down. As I fell into fits of laughter into the back of Tadashi's hoodie, his chuckle rumbled through his chest and I felt it in my face.

"It's just something I've been working on." He turned around and I wrapped my arms around him, resting my chin on his chest to look up at him. "Something simple to wake him up to help."

"It's a good idea." I blinked slowly, then peeped over his shoulder at the machine. "You know, if you stuck him on a stick and roasted him over a fire I think he would make great s'mores.

"That's something Hiro would say." He circled his arms around my waist, and let them rest on my hips.

"Aaaah, so what I said was defiantly of child super genius quality." Tadashi laughed, and kissed my forehead.

"Why haven't you showed him Baymax yet anyways?" I unraveled myself from his embrace, and circled his workspace, poking at a couple mismatched metal parts. "You should at least tell him, I'm sure he'd be interested."

Tadashi came up behind me, and looked out the giant window. "All he cares about is bot fighting."

I turned and lifted myself to sit on his desk. "He's young. He's only 14 right?"

"Yeah." He leaned his arms on either side of me.

"Come on, when I was fourteen I was pretty sure I was going to own at least nine cats by now and look at me!" Tadashi smiled, lighting up his gentle brown eyes. "No cats!"

"That's only because your landlord is allergic." He rested his forehead against mine. I skewed my mouth to the side and rolled up the sleeves of my grey sweater, thinking.

"That's true. However," Tadashi laughed and leaned back up upright. "Just because he's a kid with a big brain doesn't mean he isn't still a kid."

"It's just-I worry about him!" He said, exasperated. "One of these days he'll win a bot fight and get into some really serious trouble and I won't be there to get him out of it." He took off his ball cap and ran a hand through his hair, one of his major nervous ticks.

"If you show him all this," I gestured towards Baymax, "and show him everything out there he'll be so astounded he'll want to come here too. He might even give up bot fighting all together"

"You don't know that." He began to clean up, putting tools back into toolboxes.

"No, but it's better than just worrying away and trying to guilt him into not bot fighting." Tadashi turned and looked at me, and we stayed like that in silence for a few heartbeats.

"Besides, I think anyone would be awestruck with the stuff you guys do here." A crash sounded from the other room, followed by Wasabi yelling "I'm good!".

"Hmmmm, awestruck." Tadashi repeated sarcastically. "You ready to go?"

"And meet your Aunt Cass?" I hopped off the table and smoothed my white skirt. "I'm nervous, but if all else fails I kidnap your cat and run, right?" Tadashi slipped his hand into mine and kissed me on the cheek.

"Do you even remember my cat's name?"

"Nope, but I'm working on it." I laughed, and opened the door, opening up to the sounds of the rest of the lab.

As we walked through, Fred bounced over to us, flipping a sign around.

"You and Cotton are leaving so soon?" He said, and I laughed and lowered my head a moment.

"Why do you insist on changing my name to Cotton?" Fred made a goofy facial expression and stopped spinning his sign a moment.

"Are you aware, that your hair is the colour of cotton candy?" One side of his mouth raised in a crooked smile, and his blue beanie slid down a bit.

"Yeah I am very well aware." Tadashi's hand tightened around mine, and I looked up at him. Although I was tall, I wasn't nearly as Tadashi, or even Honey Lemon in her trademark heels.

"Why doesn't Tadashi get a new name?" I smiled, and Tadashi shook his head and grinned back.

"Because I have my own work room." He raised his eyebrows quickly, and then tugged me towards the exit."It's true!" Fred called out after us. "Nobody messes with you if you have your own room here, just ask boss Callaghen!"

Tadashi pushed open the outside door, and fresh air hit me directly in the face, blowing my long hair backwards. I scrambled to keep my skirt from flying up with the hand that wasn't holding Tadashi's and he laughed.

"For the record, I like your hair." He smiled sweetly, the evening sun warming his face.

"Pastel pink is such a natural colour you know, I can't imagine why some people are so surprised." I said sarcastically as we walked hand in hand to the quiet street.

"I think Fred just needed a quick nickname."We walked to his moped and I tied my hair back quickly before putting on the helmet he passed me.

"I'm glad you go here." I said quietly. He raised his eyebrows as he checked the latch under my chin for the helmet's strap.

"Did you know Hiro calls it the Nerd Lab?"

He bent down and gave me a quick kiss on the mouth. I smiled at him.

"I can't imagine why."


	2. Chapter 2

By the time we reached the café his aunt owned, my stomach was a writhing pit of butterflies.

Tadashi pulled his moped into a small alley beside the shop, and I quickly got off and began to take off the helmet, but my jittery fingers prevented me from undoing the clasp under my chin.

"Having trouble?" He laughed, swinging off and removing his helmet with ease. He placed a hand on my struggling fingers and eased them out of the way, then tipped my chin up so he could see what he was doing.

"I'm much more nervous than I originally anticipated." I said as soon as he had the clasp undone. I pulled the helmet off my head and shook my hair free of the knot I had placed it in. A couple pastel pink strands landed in my eyes, but I brushed them away carelessly.

"Aunt Cass may be high strung sometimes, but Tuesdays are normally great days for the café so I'm sure she'll be in a good mood."

I handed him the beige helmet, and watched him attach it to the moped silently.

"Why are Tuesdays good business days?"

"Because today we have profiteroles on for half price." He winked, and began to walk to the entrance. When he realized I wasn't beside him he half turned.

"Ellamire, come on, you don't want to be late right?" He smiled, knowing I was nervous out of my wits.

"How do I look?" I bit my lip. "Am I conservative enough?" I should have worn a longer skirt. This one only reached mid-thigh, and even then it was a light material.

"Are you conservative enough?" He laughed loudly, a cheerful sound that resonated within me. "Your sweater is probably three inches thick." I looked down at myself at his words, and toyed with the hem of the grey fabric.

"I want to make a good impression." I mumbled, gathering courage and joining Tadashi where he was standing.

"She'll love you." He smiled, and slid his hand into mine. "Almost as much as I do." He kissed my temple, and I let my inner scream of joy die down before I replied.

"But what are profiteroles." He shook his head but didn't answer, then practically dragged me to the door and inside. The bell above the glass rang out a chime, and I stopped breathing.

"Hi!" A pleasant looking woman came swinging around the counter in a blue shirt and black apron, her brown hair bouncing around her shoulders. "Tadashi how is everyone?"

"We only saw Wasabi and Fred today, but Wasabi's lasers are coming along nicely." Tadashi shrugged, belittling my terror of first impressions.

"Aw honey, I'm glad you know more science stuff than I do." She reached and patted his cheek lightly, an odd but endearing gesture.

She turned to me and I felt myself die in preparation. _Please don't think I'm a delinquent. Please don't think I'm a delinquent._ I chanted a prayer in my head.

"You must be Ellamire!" She smiled widely, and at this point I figured she was either genuinely a very cheerful person or ready to stab me to pieces.

"That's me," I squeaked, sounding like a little girl. Tadashi squeezed my hand twice, trying to comfort me, although I was pretty sure he thought the whole ordeal was worth a chuckle.

"You have beautiful-" _Don't say hair._ "Eyes!" Smiling back was easier this time, and I resisted the urge to wipe my clammy hands on my skirt. "They're such a nice dark blue."

"Thank you, your café is outstanding." I tried not to be awkward by complimenting her café and not her, but she seemed unfazed.

"I'm just closing up now, why don't you two go on upstairs?" She practically skipped around a couple round tables, pushing in chairs and clearing crumbs.

"I'll show you around." Tadashi said, and began to lead me to a hallway then a back door and staircase that was hidden behind the counter. We let go of each others hands to go up the narrow steps, and I kept myself balenced with a hand on each wall.

The staircase opened up into a kitchen and dining area on the left, and ahead the stairs continued up farther.

I was about to comment on how nice everything was when a thumping on the stairs brought my attention to an overweight orange and white cat making its way into the kitchen.

"You've met Aunt Cass, and this," He picked up the cat easily, despite how heavy the furry mass appeared. "Is Mochi."

"Hello," I cooed, and stroked its chin. "You're the real man of the house, aren't you?"

"Hey now," Tadashi laughed, and set down the cat. "Unlike him, I wasn't named after a rice cake."

I laughed and Tadashi drew me in for a hug. I closed my eyes and let myself soak up his warmth, burying my face in his hoodie.

"Tadashi?" I jumped at the sound of a boy saying Tadashi's name.

"Hey Hiro." Tadashi ruffled the kid's dark hair, "You ready to eat?"

"Actually..." Hiro looked down at his feet for a moment, and it was then that I noticed his black, doll looking robot behind his back. "There's this bot fight across town and I really gotta hurry and it's gonna be so easy!" Hiro tried to push past Tadashi under his elbow, but Tadashi grabbed the hood of his shirt.

"Absolutely not!" Tadashi said sternly, and even I winced. "Ellamire is here for dinner, and Aunt Cass has been looking forward to this night all week!"

"She has?" I gasped, then quickly put a hand over my mouth. Tadashi glanced at me before continuing.

"Just this once, can't you be responsible?"

"I will be responsible!" Hiro said, and began listing on his fingers, "I won't take any scary shortcuts, I'll check out my competition first, and I won't even be in a sketchy part of town!"

"If there's a bot fight there it's going to be a sketchy place!" Tadashi complained, taking off his hat.

"Just this once okay!" Hiro bounced off and down the stairs before Tadashi could formulate a response.

"Remember, he's just a kid." Tadashi looked at me, and I could tell my words didn't help much. A distant bell chimed as Hiro left the café.

"Yeah, a kid that graduated high school at age 13." He crinkled and smoothed out his hat in frustration, and I gently took it from him and laid it on the counter.

"Is there anything I can do to help set up for dinner?" I tried to change the topic. Anything to get his mind off of Hiro, knowing he would only worry more and more until he went to check on him.

"Plates are in the cupboard up there." He gestured vaguely to the corner cabinets, and I walked over to them, reaching up to search for the plates.

"Are you sure?" I asked, seeing only cups and bowls within the tan wood cupboard.

"Am I sure?" He laughed, and I opened the next cupboard over. "It's not like I live here or anything." He joked.

Suddenly I felt his hands slid around my waist, and his face went to my neck, brushing my hair away from my skin.

"Tadashi!" I hissed, "if your Aunt Cass comes up now, she'll never like me!"

He chucked, his breath warming my skin and giving me goosebumps down my arms.

"Seriously, she'll kick me out, and then I'll never know what a profiterole is." I squirmed a little and laughed as his lips grazed my neck.

"If I asked you to live with me, would you?" Tadashi whispered, and I stilled, my hand reaching for the plates.

"We don't even know if I can survive a dinner with your aunt." I mumbled, the sudden prospect of living with Tadashi numbing my brain.

"I don't mean live here." He moved away from me, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Where?" I stood on my toes, but I still couldn't reach the plates on the top shelf. "Help?" I turned a little, and Tadashi stopped laying out placemats to come over and help.

"I've been looking at apartments," He retrieved the plates casually, the height no problem for him. "In the Koydashi district."

My heart felt like it stopped beating, and my mouth went dry.

"Why the Koydashi district?" I whispered.

"It's close to the campus, and close to your job too." I gave him a blank look. "It's a great part of town, theres barely any crime even mentioned there."

"Right." I breathed. If only he knew how much I knew about the Koydashi district.

"Ellamire?" He paused at the table, the plates in a pile on the corner. "Is this your way of saying the thought of living with me terrifies you?" It was obvious he felt hurt at my reaction, although his personality stopped him from clearly voicing it.

"No!" I turned to face him front on, and chewed the inside of my lip. "It's just, a lot to take in." I mumbled.

"Ella, we've been dating for four months now. Some people would be married." I must have looked severely horrified because he back-pedalled pretty damn fast. "I'm not saying we should! I'm just saying-" He ran a hand down his face. I stood stock still. "I don't know what I'm saying."

Mid awkward silence was when Tadashi's Aunt Cass came humming up the stairs, a tray of sandwiches balanced precariously on one arm.

"Hey kids!" She greeted brightly. "Where's Hiro?"


	3. Chapter 3

Tadashi and I made fierce eye contact for a bitter moment, then he replied to his aunt.

"Hiro went...out." He mumbled, and turned away from me to finish laying out the plates.

"Oh, he normally loves sandwhich night." Aunt Cass said, and she layed the platter on the table.

If Aunt Cass could tell there was tension she didn't act like it. She got three cups and filled them with water and placed them on the table as Tadashi and I sat down, right beside each other.

I gazed at the array of sandwiches, most were recognizable although some I had never seen before. They were all lined up and cut into cute little quarters.

"Do you sell all these in the café?" I asked politely, and folded my hands in my lap.

"Yep!" Aunt Cass beamed. "All homemade too, no preservatives, or additives, or-"

"They're delicious." Tadashi laughed and cut her off before reaching and grabbing a couple quarters and bringing them to his plate.

"Watch out for the couple on the right though," Aunt Cass winked at me, "they're spicy."

"Oh, thank you." I smiled at her. She was easy to like, with her kind and open heart shaped face.

I watched her take a couple quarters of the spicy ones and I didn't mind, I hate hot food. It burned my mouth and to be frank I had no idea how some people put hot sauce on nearly everything.

"Tadashi tells me you work with kids?" Aunt Cass started, and I glanced at Tadashi before replying.

"Yeah, a friend owns a day care and she needs all the help she can get." I laughed, "although some kids really are a handful."

"You should have seen Tadashi and Hiro." Aunt Cass grinned, and I raised an eyebrow at Tadashi. He gave me an innocent shrug. "Hiro always wanted to run around in his underwear, and Tadashi always forgot to close the door to the washroom."

Tadashi's aunt and I shared a laugh while he groaned and put his face in his hands.

I made a move to pick up a quarter of a sandwich that looked safe, or in other words a lot like an unassuming cheese sandwich. Tadashi had been reaching for the same one, and I pulled back my hand quickly.

"You take it." I smiled, and when I turned to nod at him his cheeks were full and he made a goofy face. I couldn't help but snicker, and he picked up the sandwhich, and placed half on my plate and half on his.

"A compromise." He said quietly once he had swallowed his huge mouthful. We looked at each other, and I contemplated the meaning behind his words.

"You guys are just adorable!" Aunt Cass squealed, and I jumped. "How did you two meet again?" She rested her chin on her folded hands, and smiled, eyes eager.

"Well," I paused and waited for Tadashi to look at me. "My uncle was doing a presentation on genetics at the institute."

Tadashi smiled and continued. "Ella had wandered off to buy cookies from the vending machine, and didn't know how to work it." Tadashi' eyes seemed to sparkle at the memory.

"My hero." I joked, and Tadashi's aunt sighed happily.

"Have you always been a damsel in distress?" His Aunt Cass asked, making a cute questioning face.

"Only when it comes to vending machines." I wrinkled my nose at Tadashi, and got a laugh in response.

"Really?" He chucked, "I do remember a certain someone being afraid of mascots." He raised an eyebrow at me, and I felt his hand touch my bare thigh under the table.

"Mascots?" Aunt Cass' clear voice rang out like bells.

"I made Fred promise not to wear his costume whenever Ella visits the lab."

I felt my face flush, and I played with the end of a lock of my hair.

"It's logical!" I protested quietly, and Tadashi rubbed his thumb gently in circles on my skin. "You never know who's under the suit."

"She raises a good point!" Aunt Cass gestured towards me with her sandwich, "Now you two go upstairs and talk about science while I clean up down here." She made a shooing movement with her hands, and I stood up awkwardly, Tadashi's hand falling from my leg.

"Where would you like me to place the plate?" I asked, and Aunt Cass waved me away. Tadashi grabbed my hand, pulling me lightly upstairs while she hummed a tune and swayed around as she began to tidy.

We entered directly into what was clearly boy centered. Robot posters, mechanic tools scattered over a desk, and figurines of various action figures on shelves. As I turned right into the room, a giant robot clock covered a small wall, and I saw the divider between the two sides of the room.

"I left my hat downstairs, give me two seconds." Tadashi turned back before I could reply. I sat on his striped bed sheets, and gazed at the stack of books at the foot of the bed. There were some programming, a lot of robotics, and even a couple architecture novels.

I lay back, and let my hair fan out over the side of the bed. My phone chimed as I shut my eyes. With a sigh, I drew my phone out of my bra and checked the text that illuminated the screen.

**_We need to talk. _**

I clenched my jaw. An unknown number, but I knew exactly who it was from. I typed back quickly as I heard Tadashi come back up the stairs.

**_Not tonight._**

I clicked send as Tadashi entered the room. Shutting my phone off and laying it beside me, I sat up.

"Have you retrieved your most prized possession?" I teased, and he touched the brim of his cap-now resting on his head.

"You know that's not true." He smirked and threw himself down beside me. I bounced upwards on the bed, his weight launching me momentarily. "You're my most prized possession." He mumbled into the blankets, and my heart warmed.

I fake gasped. "You like me more than your hat?" I tugged it off his head, and he released a moan in response. "You shouldn't mind me wearing it then I suppose." I placed it on my own head, and where my head was so much smaller than his, the hat skewed partially to the side. "Besides," I pondered, "am I really a possession?"

He leaned up on his elbows, the front of his hair messed up from the sheets.

"No." He grumbled. "You're a person." He reached for his hat back, and I leaned just out of reach and laughed.

"Your laughter sounds like music." Tadashi said, and I immediately shut my mouth.

"Thank you." I whispered. He sat up quickly and flung himself at me, and I squeaked and tried not to fall off the bed.

He landed on me, and my breath got forcibly exhaled in a sudden whoosh. He was draped over me sideways, his face now hovering over mine, the brim of his cap the only thing creating distance between us.

"I'll take that." He breathed, and switched his hat from my head to his, although he put the cap on backwards.

I stared into his dark eyes for a moment, and we shared a grin. He dropped his face down to mine and I felt his lips brush lightly against my own. His breath was warm on my face, and I closed my eyes as he kissed me again, this time sealing our mouths together. We moved slowly, our mouths exploring each other's. I raised my hands and knocked his hat off, and ran my fingers through his hair, enjoying the feel of it. He tasted like toothpaste, and I mentally chucked at the thought of him speed brushing his teeth before he came back up.

"Why didn't you eat anything?" He murmured against my lips, and I moved my hands to his chest and pushed him back a bit.

"I wasn't hungry." I whispered, not looking him in the eyes, looking instead at my hands twisting in the fabric of his shirt.

"You always say that." He dipped his face into my neck, his lips trailing where my sweater had moved off my shoulder, his kisses like fire down the length of my collarbone. I sighed in content. "Uh," he paused, and I stilled.

"What?"

"I don't want to alarm you," he raised his head and looked me in the eyes. "But my leg just vibrated."

"_What_?" I gasped, but then I heard it, my phone chiming again with more texts.

"I think someone is requesting your immediate attention, Ella." He joked, and I laughed and pushed him farther back so I could retrieve my phone from beneath his leg.

A series of texts had appeared on my phone, all from the same blocked number.

**_You're testing my patience. _**

Then another,

**_Does the situation need to be in the hands of someone else?_**

And then the most frightening.

**_We wouldn't want any accidents happening, would we?_**

I sat up quickly, all interest dissipated with the increasingly worrying texts.

"What's wrong?" Tadashi asked, and brushed hair off my face, gently moving it to be behind my shoulder.

"It's nothing-I just-" I bit my lip, contemplating on what to say. "I need to get home, Vivian is calling in a desperate favour." I tried to laugh away the worried look on his face but he could tell something was wrong.

"I'll give you a ride." He lept up, and picked his hat up off the floor from where it had landed.

I texted back before standing.

**_I'm on my way. _**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry that this is a shortish chapter, my life has become somewhat hectic this past week, but I really appreciate the couple reviews I've ****gotten and am trying to update ASAP. Please just keep in mind I have a severely lacking update schedule, so no promises on how many and how often. I also don't write these kinds of chapter beginning notes often, so don't expect any more for a while. Thanks! Stay Adorable -SabrinaBuns**

Halfway home, with my arms around Tadashi's waist as he drove was when I realized I was in way over my head.

Getting attached is messy. Having grown up with such a violent fear of commitment, and now having been with Tadashi for three-four? Months, there were so many things that couldn't be undone.

I debated backing out. There was no way I could go through with what I was supposed to do. Not after four months. Maybe not ever.

Beneath my hands, Tadashi's phone vibrated, stilling my stressed thoughts.

"Can you check that?" Tadashi asked, and I reached into his pocket and carefully withdrew his phone, making sure it didn't go flying behind us.

"Uh," I squinted at his screen. "Hiro says he needs you."

"That k_nucklehead!" _He grumbled vehemently. He sped up, but I grabbed his shoulder.

"Pull over."

"What?"

"Pull over!"

Tadashi turned into an alley-like street, with dim lights overhead and wires running the length of it.

"I can walk home from here, go take care of your brother." I swung my leg off the moped, and deftly took off my helmet.

"No way, it's dark out." Tadashi protested as I handed him his phone.

"All the more reason to go get Hiro." He didn't respond, but his shadowed eyes searched my face.

"Text me when you get home, or I'm coming back to check." He decided, and I smiled at my feet.

"Sounds good." I leaned forward quickly and kissed him on the cheek. "Go get your crazy delinquent brother."

"Ella, please be safe." He pleaded, and revved his moped. He took off back to the main street, and I watched him turn back the way we had come. He went out of sight as a light bulb farther down the alley flickered.

I turned to look down the street, and narrowed my eyes at the shadowed places along the brick walls. Old torn posters were scattered everywhere, and an almost comical newspaper skittered under a rusty parked car.

I made my way down the street, never straying too close to the dark edges. As I passed the car, a voice spoke up from the shadows.

"Ellamire, how nice of you to finally show up."

I tensed automatically, instantly recognizing the speaker.

"Don't you know sneaking up on people is rude?" I said snidely, and spun on my heel to glare at Calvin-better known as Karnage.

"I did no sneaking, darling, I wasn't even moving." His face was lit up by the glowing end of a cigarette, the smoke raising around his face. His eyes were mean, and the lines around his mouth had gotten deeper, if that was even possible. A layer of stubble covered his lower face, and I clenched my jaw at his expression.

"Ellamire, we're all getting pretty worried." He stood up straight, to his impressively scary height. "You don't call anymore." He joked, but with a grim undertone.

"I've been busy." I snapped, and shivered at a cool breeze that flew down the street.

"Busy?" He raised an eyebrow, a habit I had gotten from him. "Busy like a bee I suppose, but how is that going?" He stepped forward an imperceptible amount, and I stepped back, a knee jerk reaction.

"I know why you're here, and it's the same answer as last time." I bit my tongue, trying to stall. "He's not ready."

"And when will he be ready?" He gestured erratically, stepping closer and closer, backing me up. "A month? Two? How about a year?"

"Karnage stop it." I cried out, realizing he had me backed up to a side of the street.

"We've been patient." He whispered. He blew smoke into my face and I shut my eyes, recoiling into the wall behind me. "Stop pushing your luck."

"I don't have to do anything, in case you don't remember." I spat.

"Don't have to?" He laughed, a throaty, raspy sound. "Your uncle sure wouldn't want to hear that."

"He's not my uncle." I glared. "He's a man who has been making plans for my life since before I was even born."

"Such fury. Wow." He smiled crookedly. "You should be thankful for what your uncle has done."

I said nothing.

"Besides, he gave you such a lovely colour of hair." He leaned close, smoke and the smell of stale alcohol clouding me. He grabbed the back of my head, fingers wrapping into my hair. "This is your last warning little Ellamire." He breathed at me. "You know how persuasive we can be if you need us to be, you may want to consider that."

He ripped his hand away from my head, and I sidestepped away from him as fast as I could.

He laughed once more, blowing smoke into the night sky as he turned and walked away.

I felt filthy and vile after that encounter, and I touched the back of my head gingerly, where his fingers had grabbed at my skull.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I headed farther down the alley, heading back towards to the place I called home. I turned onto a busier street, and made my way back to my calm and more importantly safe neighbourhood as fast as I could.

Nothing else happened as I walked back, unless my ankles getting sore from my new flats was anything to note.

As I fumbled with the keys to get into the short four story apartment, a quiet meow jerked my attention to the sidewalk. A tiny black and white cat sat at the corner of the door, one blue eye and one green eye staring up at me.

"Hello there." I murmured, "looks like you've got some crazy genetics too, huh?"

The cat meowed in response, and strolled away as I finally got the creaky front door to open. Locking it behind me, I practically ran up the stairs, desperate to get into my apartment and forget the events of the day.

After the déjà vu trauma of struggling with the front door to my apartment at the very top of the stairs, I pulled off my sweater and skirt, throwing on a tank top and crawling under the familiar covers of my bed.

I shut my eyes, and heaved a breath. Suppressing a sob, my hands flew to my mouth as the true gravity of the situation was thrown to my shoulders.

I was in trouble. And now I had gotten Tadashi into even more trouble than he had been in before I was in the picture.

In a nutshell, we were screwed.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up to a thud from the kitchen. I slipped out from under my covers, the cool air sending a wave of goosebumps across my bare legs. Deftly, I picked up the old baseball bat I had behind my night stand, and padded my way silently down the hall.

"Ellamire?" Tadashi's voice swept over me, and I lowered the bat with a sigh. He turned the corner, and relief fanned out across his face.

"Hey," I said quietly, my morning voice cracking.

His eyes ran up and down me, and I tugged my tank top a bit lower, realizing I was just in black panties.

"You didn't text me last night." He mumbled, running his hand through his hair. I noticed his ball cap in his hand.

"Oh," I leaned the bat against the wall. "I'm sorry, I forgot."

"I forgot too," he said sheepishly, and he broke into a grin. "I got a speeding ticket on the way over here."

"You _what_?" I gasped, and strode quickly over to him. "Your aunt is going to have a fit!" I touched his face with my hands, glad he didn't crash or something worse.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He said, and threw his arms around me. "Hiro won his bot fight."

"Of course he did." I said into his cardigan, and inhaled Tadashi's scent. Like fresh laundry, mint, and a hint of metal. I pulled back a little bit. "You didn't think of calling though?"

"I did!" He laughed. "You didn't answer."

"I am so sorry, my phone must have been on silent! Are you hungry?"

"Is that a question?"

I laughed and drew away, leading him to the kitchen.

"Nice butt." He joked as he followed, and I spun and smacked him on the shoulder, laughing and feeling my cheeks turn red.

"Go sit down and _behave_." I pushed him into the bright kitchen. "I'm going to go put pants on."

I heard a groan as I walked away, and I shook my head. It's not like Tadashi had never seen me in my underwear before, I had changed in front of him more than once before.

I picked up my phone and scrolled through my new texts while I rummaged through my dresser. I must have put my phone on silent sometime last night. I had a couple texts from Vivian, several missed calls from Tadashi, but one from my uncle.

**_Did Calvin talk some sense into you, or should I?_**

I swallowed, and ran my tongue across my teeth. I texted back furiously.

**_The plan is still the same. I'm not risking it. _**

Of course, the plan had been altered more than I wanted to admit already. Tadashi didn't deserve what they had planned. No one did. I refused to think that my own feelings had now come in the way, but at the same time of course they did. Why else could I be delaying giving my uncle what he would undoubtedly get in the end either way?

I ran a hand through my hair, my fingers catching on a couple tangles but not many. My other hand brushed up against a pair of comfy work out shorts and I grabbed them and shoved them on.

On the bright side, the couple texts from Vivian detailed that her blind date had gone remarkable well, and the guy only _slightly_ looked like a vulture after being run over.

The scent of pancakes drifted into my room, and I quickly sent the thumbs up emoji to Viv.

Jogging back into my brightly lit kitchen, I stared at the sight before me. Tadashi stood at my stove, carefully ladling a mixture onto a pan.

"Are you-"

"The best boyfriend ever?" He laughed. "Quite possibly."

"Oh wow," I mumbled happily, and moved to stand beside him, gazing down at what he was doing.

"Hiro's phone broke last night," Tadashi said, suddenly grim.

"How?" I moved to my fridge, and opened it, basking in the cool air for a moment. When Tadashi didn't answer right away I looked over. He hadn't moved, he was just watching the creamy batter sizzle on the pan, a spatula gripped in his fist.

"Dashi," I encouraged quietly, using a nickname no one really used for him, even me. Tadashi got exhasperated often when it came to the subject of Hiro, but he would never yell, or hit things or get mad. However, somehow I would prefer that over this silent worried brooding. "Talk to me." I walked over, and eased the spatula out of his hand, and replacing it with my own hand, then inserting my fingers between his.

He still didn't reply to me, but he lifted our joined hands and kissed the back of mine.

"Show Hiro Baymax." I repeated my suggestion from yesterday. "Or show him the lab, or make him meet Callahagn, or-"

He spun me to face him, and let go of my hand to hold me around my waist before bringing his face to mine and kissing me quickly. He broke the kiss far too fast for my liking however, and he rested his forehead against my neck.

"Ellamire, I've already lost my parents, I can't lose him too." He whispered. I circled my arms up and around his neck, and hugged him tight. Part of me was jealous of Hiro, and the bond they shared. But on the other hand I knew how dangerously close to a person you had to be to form that special bond, and I knew I couldn't risk that. Not with my uncle and his damned plan depending on me to be the non-violent way of bending Tadashi's whim and ensuring success. At that thought, I closed my eyes, now just as invested in the hug as Tadashi was.

"Do you smell something burning?" Tadashi mumbled, and we leapt apart, him grabbing the spatula from the counter, and me jumping out of the way. I fell into fits of choked laughter as he scraped the now burnt and crusty pancakes off the pan. He flung the black and crispy bits onto a ready and waiting plate, and heaved a sigh, looking defeated.

"I'm sure they would have been delicious." I joked, and bent over to look into the still open fridge. Finding what I was looking for, I pulled out some strawberries and placed them on the counter. Closing the fridge door with my foot, I scooted around Tadashi and pulled a knife out of the cutlery drawer and began to slice up the sweet fruits.

"Seriously though, show Hiro Baymax." I glanced sideways at Tadashi to gauge his reaction before continuing. "You're his hero. He looks up to you."

"Not enough to stop bot fighting though." Tadashi practically growled in frustration.

"Which is _why_ you should show him how cool Baymax really is." I slid the cut up strawberries into my hand, and then dropped them into the bowl of batter Tadashi had mixed up. "Besides, he might have some brilliant input to improve-_ow_!" I had reached out to pick up the knife, but had carelessly grabbed the wrong end. I hummed loudly, keeping my mouth shut to prevent some pretty foul curses from leaving my lips.

"Ella! What happened?" Tadashi spun around, and looked at my right hand clasped carefully in my left, and a little bit of dark red blood that had started to trail down my fist and gather at my wrist.

"Oh boy." He said quickly, and braced himself on the counter behind him.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"It's not that." He squeezed his eyes shut, and I laughed when I realized why.

"Blood makes you queezy?" I grinned, and took the opportunity to bring my hands to the little corner sink. Checking my palm quickly, I saw the cut almost healed.

"I'm good." When I turned to look at him, his face was pale, but his eyes were open again and we locked eyes. "I'm good." He repeated.

"Me too." I smiled, trying not to be teasing. When he started to step closer I turned on the tap and quickly plunged my hands under the falling water. I winced at the cold.

"Let me see, how bad is it?" He seemed more concerned now than faint, but I shook my head quickly.

"Go make sure those pancakes don't burn, I'll be fine don't worry." I nodded at him, and glanced at the pan unattended on the stove.

He seemed reluctant, but returned to his post and I turned my back to him, opening my hand carefully. Under the running water, my uncut palm stared back up at me.


	6. Chapter 6

I mentally fumbled for a way to explain away my unblemished hand. I wasn't prepared for this _at all_. Of the four months Tadashi and I had been together, the worst scenarios I had faced were paper cuts. Once, he questioned as to why I was so good at keeping up dying my hair so that my roots couldn't be seen at all, but he stopped asking after a little while. But this? _This_ I didn't know how to fix.

"Tadashi, I'm going to go grab a bandaid okay?" I said as I heard him flip a pancake over, and I scurried out of the kitchen before he had even replied.

I stopped at the tiny linen closet halfway down the hallway, and threw it open.

Did I even own bandages?

"Should I trust that there's no blood in the pancake batter?" Tadashi called out, and I rolled my eyes.

"Just don't burn any more!" I replied, reaching up to look behind a bunch of folded towels. I could see a little box towards the back, with a picture of an alien on it. I jumped and grasped it with my fingertips, launching it-and some flinstone vitamins-down towards the floor.

I mumbled a curse as I gathered up the spilled band aids, and hunched down to tear one open. With terrible coordination and accuracy, I peeled the rocket ship shaped bandaid off the plastic and stuck it to my hand in record time.

"Aye yo Cotton!" I flinched at the voice behind me, and when I turned to look, I saw Wasabi, nearly taking up the entire hallway with his large frame.

"Hi!" I squeaked. "What are you doing here?" Between Wasabi's legs, I caught a glimpse of Honey Lemon's memorable long slender legs, with trademark high platform shoes on.

"Honey Lemon!" I called out, both interrupting whatever Wasabi was saying and jumping up and frantically pushing past him.

Honey Lemon stood beside Tadashi in front of the stove, and just to the right, GoGo had made herself at home at my kitchen table. She looked ridiculous in her black and white rocker get up, sitting at my quaint and flowery blue table.

"Honey Lemon!" I cried out again, and she turned away from Tadashi to smile at me.

"**Hello!**" She practically screamed at me, and when I visibly flinched she tugged her ear buds out of her ears. "I haven't seen you in forever!" She rushed forward, hugging me quickly and kissing my cheeks. She was still loud, even without her music blasting in her ears.

"Shoes!" I pointed at her feet, and then pointed at my bare ones.

"Right right, sorry!" She looked like a gazelle as she pranced off back to my front door to take her shoes off with and place them among the others there.

"Most people leave their shoes on in the house." Wasabi strode over to the plate of done pancakes, and picked one up and took a giant bite.

"Most people seem to like sweeping then." I grumbled, and sat across from GoGo.

"You look rough." GoGo said, and raised an eyebrow at me. I squinted at her.

"_Thanks_." I toyed with the bandaid on my palm. It was an odd feeling to have one stuck to me. Like a giant sticker in an inconvenient place.

"They had gone over to the café looking for me, but Hiro told them I came here so they came too," Tadashi kissed me on the top of my head and laid the plate of pancakes on the table. "Sorry," he whispered into my ear as he walked back to the stove. I looked up at him and shrugged, trying to tell him it was alright. I could deal with guests.

"Where's Fred?" Tadashi asked the room, wiping down the counter.

"Probably under a bridge somewhere." GoGo mumbled, and popped the pink bubble she had just created with her gum.

Tadashi laughed, a rich sound that made me smile. He shook his head when I gazed at him questioningly. I'm pretty sure he had mentioned something about hidden wealth when he had described Fred to me, but I was yet to believe it and it appeared no one else had seen it either. After all, while I was pretty sure Fred's mascot costume cost a pretty penny, it was hard to imagine him with deep pockets.

The sun streamed in, and I had to admit, besides feeling really on guard and a little frightened, it was nice to have company over. Meeting people other than the shady underbelly of San Fransoyko was refreshing.

Honey Lemon and Wasabi laughed at something, at least I assume they both laughed, as Wasabi's deep laugh was louder than anyone.

I blinked at everyone in turn. GoGo raised an eyebrow at me but said nothing, and when I finally reached Tadashi, he was hanging the hand towel back where it belonged on a rack under my sink. He turned and put his hands in his pockets. He smiled at me. I smiled back, but lowered my eyes to the tablecloth, and began to fiddle with a stray blue thread.

"I, uh," I looked up as Tadashi spoke, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I actually gotta get back to the cafe soon to help Aunt Cass out with the lunch time rush."

"That's our cue!" Wasabi rushed over, shoving two pancakes into his mouth and grabbing more in his hand before heading to the door.

"Thank you for having us over!" Honey Lemon rushed over, pulling me close in a fast tight hug before releasing me and following Wasabi. GoGo saluted with her two fingers at her forehead, then followed them out. The front door opened, then closed, the door slamming pretty ceremoniously. While I had gotten closer to them all in the time I was with Tadashi, there was still a clear border that I wasn't really a _friend_, I was Tadashi's _girlfriend_.

My kitchen felt empty, and I suddenly felt stupid about sitting alone at the table.

"Would you like a pancake before you go?" I joked, offering up the delicious looking strawberry pancakes.

"If I have one, I may never want to leave." He laughed, and took off his ball cap.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" I half whispered, boldly not looking away when he glanced sharply at me. His dark brown eyes were wide, questioning me openly. After a moment he half smiled.

"I think I would change a couple things around here first." He winked, and slid into the seat across from me. As if by habit, our feet casually interlocked.

"Would you fix the leaky sink?" I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively, and threw my hair over my shoulder in a flash of pale pink.

"Even better." He winked, leaning towards me over the table, his broad shoulders taking up most of my vision. He dropped his voice down an octave. "I would fix this wobbly table." To prove his point, he shook the table with his elbows, and I laughed.

"What more could a girl wish for?" I sighed dramatically.

He leaned forward farther than before, and lifted himself off his seat to reach me. I met his lips with mine. It reminded me of our first kiss, when had finally gathered the courage. He had leaned over a table in the Lucky Cat Cafe and kissed me, much to the disgust of his younger brother Hiro, who let out a long "Euuuuughh". Then, Tadashi had pulled back quickly, blushing and shouting at Hiro that he was just jealous. Now, there was more, and that was exactly why I was afraid.


	7. Chapter 7

**Quick note-I feel brutally sorry for not writing, my life has ben delving into an insane whirlwind of drama and my priorities are a haze. I'll be writing more often from now on, and will definitely have a chapter up at least once a week (if not more :) thank you so much to those who have stuck with this story, and enjoy! ****Stay adorable! -SabrinaBuns**

Tadashi left to help out his aunt at the café, leaving me to my own devices. I nibbled on a pancake and put the others in a container for some other time before making my way to the washroom. I contemplated how I was really going to solve the great big mess I had caused. All things considered, it could be way worse; I had to count my blessings that of all people to send to check up on me, my uncle had sent Calvin. He acted tough, which he really was, but when it came down to it Calvin was in it for himself, just riding my Uncle's wave to glory.

In front of the mirror, I stripped down, peeling off my clothes and then running my hands through my hair. I nodded at my reflection, then spun around and got into the the shower.

A bit later, as the hot water beat down on my shoulders, my phone rang from the other room. I let it go to voicemail, figuring it really wouldn't be worth it to come flying out of the shower like a drenched banshee to get it, and then have to clean up the soap and water everywhere. The beep rang out that a message had been left, and I smiled. Probably Vivian, wanting to tell me all about her blind date. I had to stop avoiding her. Her face came to mind, with her big brown eyes and dimpled cheeks. I had met her by bumping into her a couple weeks ago as I was leaving the cafe, and all things aside she was a total sweetheart. I just didn't want to risk her getting involved in any way with what I was. With what I was integrally a huge unfortunate part of.

I scoffed at myself. Sure, spare the doe eyed girl who can't find the guy of her dreams, but throw Tadashi under the bus.

Turning the water off, I hummed a familiar tune to myself and then wrapped myself up in a towel.

I screamed when I opened the bathroom door.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here, Sasha?" I raged at the weasely boy standing in my hallway.

"Look, I know you don't want to see me-" He practically shook, his small frame cowering away from me.

"Don't want to see you?" I laughed mirthlessly. "What an understatement." I wanted to throw something at him-anything-but my hallway was bare.

"I have news!" He squealed, and ran both pale hands through his greasy red hair.

"News?" I growled. "And you couldn't have told me some other way? Or _time_?"

"They don't want you to know," he stammered, "I wasn't sure how to."

My fury died down a bit. "What is it?"

"It's your uncle, he's changing the plan." Sasha backed up, hands raised as if confronting a wild animal.

"What?"

"He's going to use you as leverage against Tadashi instead of-"

"Does he think I'm that _expendable_?" I practically screamed, "What a pathetic joke!" I gripped the towel tightly to me, my hands curled in fists.

"He's not going to um, kill you, at least I'm pretty sure he's not-"

"He's not going to kill me." I wiped water off my chin. "I'm his biggest genetic alteration success story. If he killed me it would take years before another kid could go into the testing stages, not even factoring in-"

"Your uncle knows about that nurse robot Tadashi is making." Sasha interrupted meekly. "He's...well, he's pretty mad you didn't tell him in any of your updates."

"How does someone of your standing even get information like this." I tried to act bigger than I felt, but the truth was, I was wrapped in a towel with wet hair and I had never been so absolutely _terrified_.

"I have friends, you know."

"I'm shocked, now get out." I disregarded him and started down the hallway to my room.

"What, no thank you? No I.O.U?" He called out at me.

"Thank you." I looked over my shoulder at him and glared. "And I owe you nothing."

I slammed my bedroom door, hoping he got the hint.

Moments later, I heard the front door slam shut.

_Holy shit_. I sat on my bed, not even putting the effort into getting dressed just yet.

My uncle was just going to _use_ me? He was already using me for information, and when it came down to the edge, get me to push Tadashi into doing the wrong thing. Or right thing, depends on which side your on.

Besides, how was I supposed to be used as leverage? Just toss a threat around? Fake a kidnapping? There were so many ways it could go wrong.

Would Tadashi even do as they asked if I was on the line?

It would break him. There is no way that Tadashi, the boy who rescues his brother from bot fights gone wrong and lives with a fat calico cat above a cafe, could do what my uncle wanted. _Wrong_, part of me thought. Of course he can. He's brilliant. But it would utterly destroy him. For most intents and purposes, he would die. He wouldn't be Tadashi anymore.

And that was something I wouldn't let happen.

I threw off the towel, and dug around in my dresser for a hair elastic. Never leave your hair down when you're about to get something done. My mom had always said that. It'll hinder you, and besides, tangles suck.

I threw on clothes carelessly. My leggings were rumpled and my shirt was skewed to the side, but I picked up my phone and headed out the door anyways.

At the top of the stairs leading towards the front door of the building, my voicemail notification flashed at me.

I lifted my phone to my ear as I walked outside, the door locking automatically behind me.

Tadashi's voice came on.

"Hey! Ella, it's me," he chucked. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the park tonight? Aunt Cass said she made way too many donuts and you have that great picnic blanket." A pause. "So yeah, anyways. It's just an idea." I heard Hiro yell something in the background, and then a clatter as something must have fallen to the ground. "I gotta go, but let me know?" The message ended with an unattractive beep.

I stopped walking, but didn't remove the phone from my ear.

That solved the problem of when I would see him. But how the hell was I going to tell him.

Should I even tell him?

"Nice hair." A deep voice commented from behind me, and I spun around, the hand holding my phone faltering.

I came face to face with someone I didn't know, but felt like I did. Also someone who could easily be a model.

"Thanks?" I mumbled, my voice sounding deranged. He smirked, and a dimple appeared in his cheek. A cheek with a fine dusting of _stubble_ I might add.

Tadashi couldn't really grow a beard, which was fine by me since I got to be spared from beard rash.

"The hair is a 10 but the style?" He raised a perfectly arched blonde eyebrow. "Mmm it could use some work."

I looked down at myself, and felt a little ashamed. I had blown out the door with a shitty plan, and a shitty outfit to match. But why would that matter to a stranger?

"Your looks are a 10," I replied, "but your personality reminds me of a dump truck."

"Ellamire, you know nothing of my personality." He laughed, a rich sound that made the empty street seem busy.

"I also don't know your name." I narrowed my eyes at him, and especially at his wind tousled blond hair. "But I think I'd rather find out how you know mine first."

"You're a hard girl to find, you know that?" He winked, and I felt repulsed. His dark grey eyes searched me.

"And why would you try to find me?"

"Questions, mainly." He rubbed his chin. "Although I'd love to get to know you better."

"I have somewhere to be." I had had enough of the conversation.

"So do I, but I'd like to be where you're headed." His smile never left his face as he spoke. I scoffed at his words. My uncle had sent people before, to test how well I kept secrets, how trust worthy I was with information. Sending an extremely stunning guy was new, but I wouldn't put it past him.

"What exactly is your game plan here?" I threw my arms out in exasperation, careful not to launch my phone across the street. "I'm not interested, and I doubt I could answer your questions. So go back to whatever sleazy rock you crawled out from under, and leave me be." I turned around and unlocked my phone as I walked away, going to text Tadashi.

"Fine!" He called out from behind me. "You don't have to answer my questions. At least let me take you out to dinner or something though?"

I laughed out loud, throwing my head back.

"I'm in a relationship." I shook my head, and kept walking.

"Are you really? As far as I heard that was just for your uncle's convenience."

I froze in my steps.

"What do you know about my uncle?" I turned slightly, and he stood exactly where I left him, his hands slung casually in his pockets. He looked like he knew I would stop; he looked like he knew what he was doing.

"I know he genetically altered you when you were still in the womb." I blinked at him. That certainly wasn't common knowledge. "I know he has big plans for this city, and your _boyfriend _has a major role." He made air quotes around the word boyfriend.

"Who do you work for?" I whispered.

"I work for myself." He laughed, and I hated to admit that I was trapped. "Just trying to follow in my father's footsteps."

"And just what kind of footsteps were they?"

"How about I tell you over dinner?"

I hated myself for saying yes.


	8. Chapter 8

I stood stiffly in the lobby of some fancy restaurant down town, staring at my toes. My pink painted toenails peeked out from my red heels, the fanciest shoes I owned, and also the least comfortable.

"You look beautiful, by the way." I clenched my jaw as his words.

"You said that already." I looked up, meeting his intense gaze.

"Then it must be true." He smiled, and I wanted to vomit.

I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to go home and change into nice clothing, just to come to a restaurant with a man I don't know, who might possibly have useful information.

"If you compliment me again, I at least get to know your name." I practically growled, pinching the end of my black dress in anxious fingers.

"Smart _and_ beautiful." He murmured, and I felt his fingers stroke my cheek. I slapped his hand away, and took a step towards the wall.

"You complimented me." I stared at him unforgivingly. "Tell me your name."

He sighed and slung his hands in his crisp jean pockets. After gazing around the lobby for a moment, he smiled at me. "It's Rye."

"Like the bread?"

"Like the whiskey."

I didn't reply, I just stared at him. I stared at his stupid cheeks, perfectly sculpted. Tadashi had better cheekbones. I stared at his stupid eyes, reflecting the lights like stars. Tadashi's eyes actually held warmth though. I stared at his stupid lips-

"When are you going to start telling me something worth my time?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from his face.

"When are you going to give up?" He countered. I snapped my eyes back to his face.

"_Give up_?" I laughed. "Give what up."

He didn't answer, and in that moment a waiter clad in black and white stepped up to us.

"Your table is ready, please follow me." Rye nodded curtly at the waiter, and held out an arm for me to take. I ignored it, and followed behind the waiter. Without missing a beat, Rye fell into step beside me, placing a hand on the small of my back.

I spun around, annoyed.

"If you touch me one more time, it'll be the last time you have fingers." I hissed through my teeth.

An elderly woman at the table directly to my right raised frightened eyebrows, and even held a hand to her chest. The old man across the table from her was nodding at me.

I turned back around, seeing the waiter up ahead at a secluded table in the corner. As I sat, I took in the long pillar candle in the middle of the table. With a wave of frustration, I blew it out.

"You like the dark more?" Rye smiled from across.

"I don't like the ambiance." My eyes flicked down to the menu in front of me. It read Le Chein Noir in beautiful cursive. "Doesn't this place have reservations?"

He nodded at me, his thumb nail in his mouth as he flipped through the menu.

I opened my mouth to say something but stopped. He knew I would say yes. This was all planned.

"Start talking or I'm leaving right now." I set the menu down carefully, aligning it with the white table cloth at the edge. "I'm not trying to play games."

"Who said I wanted to play a game?" He raised his eyebrows. "We haven't even eaten yet."

"I'm not hungry." I was proud of the steel in my voice. I thought of Tadashi, how betrayed he would feel if he saw me out with this utter tool. He didn't deserve this. I didn't deserve him.

"Your uncle wasn't the only one who genetically modified people." He started, and folded his arms.

"I know that. Children are modified already, preventing-"

"Alchzimers, hereditary diseases." He narrowed his eyes. "You know what kind of modification I'm talking about."

"I was the only successful one." I mumbled, touching my hair self consciously.

He hummed. "The pink hair was a nice touch."

"It was an accident."

"Yes, genes certainly are unpredictable." He leaned back in his chair, sliding his foot beside mine. "What we tell the world is that San Fransokyo is the lead city for genetic research in the world." I nodded at him to continue. "What we don't tell them, is that most of the actual results are underground."

"My uncle."

"Your uncle." He repeated. "He wasn't always underground you know."

"I know that, he worked with Crei tech for awhile."

"Why did he stop?" Rye was making me do the talking now, leading me to the conclusions.

"His tests were deemed inhumane." I whispered.

"You see, he wasn't the only one." Rye laughed. "And you're not the only one."

I felt my eyes widen. My uncle would want to know this-but why should I tell him?

"I thought the rest died, they wouldn't last a year." Without realizing it, I had been nervously playing with the fork.

"Most did. Turns out the key to survival is luck." Rye picked up his knife and I stiffened. "Did you know I'm very lucky?"

"You?" I murmured.

"Me."

I didn't have words. This whole time I had been looking at another genetically altered human.

"From what I can tell, I'm very similar to you." He spun his knife in his left hand, then flawlessly transferred it to his right. "I'm ambidextrous. And-" he paused as my phone lit up.

We both stared at it as Tadashi's name popped up on screen. It was 6:00, if the café hadn't been busy his Aunt Cass might have let him out early.

I picked up my phone, and stared at Rye, waiting for him to challenge me.

I clicked talk, and stood up, leaving the table.

"Hey!" My voice wavered slightly, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Hey Ellamire, did you get my message earlier?" His voice calmed me.

"Yeah, I just-I forgot to reply I'm sorry."

"It's no problem!" I heard a bell chime on his side. "My knucklehead of a brother broke a couple plates today so Aunt Cass is making him clean up tonight. Are you up for the picnic?"

I bit on my thumbnail. Tadashi's face came into my mind and I was torn. After a moment I replied.

"Yeah! Yes, I just have to get home and I'll put some stuff together."

"You're out?" I flinched. It was an innocent question.

"I bumped into an old friend of mine earlier, we were just catching up." I wrinkled my nose as the lie came easily to me. "I'll meet you at the park at 6:30?"

"That sounds awesome Ella, I'll see you then."

"Sweet!" I turned to face Rye, who sat at the table looking ticked off.

"Love you," he said, and I tightened my grip on my phone.

"Love you too." I hung up first.

"You don't love him." Rye said, staring at me.

"You don't know love." I spat back. I pushed in my chair, and began to walk away.

"You're just going to leave?" Rye called out, drawing the attention of some other customers. My eyes scanned the room.

"Yep." I continued to storm off, my heels sinking into the plush carpet.

When I stepped outside, a cool breeze hit me blissfully in the face. I inhaled, my mind in a turmoil.

"You're not going to see him tonight." Rye said, suddenly behind me.

I hate to admit it, but I jumped.

"Yes, I am." I bit back more rude things to say.

"You're going to come with me for a while, long enough for Tadashi to believe you're gone." My blood ran cold. "We've placed notes already, telling him if he searches or involves the police, that we will kill you."

"Who is _we_?" My voice was barely above a whisper.

"My father is still alive." He stepped forward, standing right beside me now. "And he has plans that are going to blow your Uncle's out of the water."

"Why are you involving Tadashi?" My eyes were misting over. I could run, theoretically, if I could get my heels off fast enough.

"Why involve Tadashi?" Rye belted out a laugh, throwing his head back. "He has the highest IQ in San Fransokyo. He's the smartest man here. And possibly the world." I shook my head at his words, but said nothing.

"He's putting his brain to shame with his stupid piece of shit helper robot thing." Rye looked down the street. I winced, suddenly getting chills.

"The funny thing is, it's because of you that we even considered Tadashi."

"What?" I breathed, feeling the weight of the blame increase.

"You uncle was doing a lecture on genetics. Tadashi bumped into you." Rye locked eyes with me. The grey slates seemed cold. "He wasn't even at the lecture, and he never would have looked into it if it hadn't been for your little honey pot act."

"He researched genetics?" My heart was being crushed with each word. Not only did I essentially curse Tadashi already because of my uncle, but I effectively set him up as an interest to whoever Rye worked with.

"He only worked on it for about a month." Rye grinned at me. "But you should see the progress he made. It's stunning." Rye got a faraway look in his eyes. "Altering genetics in an adult. With no consequence."

I didn't even open my mouth.

"Your gift was a waste on you." I recoiled as if his words had physically hit me.

"A gift?" I practically screeched. "My uncle is using me as if I'm some sort of toy robot!"

"That's what we are."

"Not me." I whispered.

Before he could respond, I kicked off my heels and ran in the opposite direction, down the busy street. A car honked from the highway stretched above me, and I sped up, my bare feet slapping the asphalt.

"You're making a mistake!" Rye called after me, and I could now hear his shoes hitting the side walk. His pace was faster than mine.

"Help!" I screamed, waving my arms at the cars flying by. One honked, and I cried out in exasperation. Glancing to my left, Rye was within reach. I dodged to the right as he reached for me, and I screamed again.

A bright red sports car veered to the side of the road, and a buff woman got out.

"Hey!" She yelled, striding purposefully towards us. Her hair was buzzed short but she was unmistakeably a girl, with an angular face and feminine figure barely consealed under her muscle.

Rye latched on to my arm and yanked, and I cried out. "_Get off me you psycho_!" I shouted, and now the lady ran to us.

"Back off, this doesn't involve you." Rye held me behind him and the woman stepped up to us. I writhed in his grip, wishing I was stronger.

"It does now." She said, and I wanted to leap into her arms. "Let her go."

"She's just my friend, she's had a little too much to drink-"

"He's lying please, he's crazy he's trying to take me somewhere." I bit his hand, my teeth sinking into his skin, but not puncturing. He let me go with a flinch and I hurried towards my saviour.

"Go home kid." She said, putting an arm in front of me, separating Rye and me.

"Ellamire, you're making a big mistake." Rye's eyes seemed to plead with me, but I was having none of it.

"Leave me alone before I call the police." I tried to sound strong, but my voice was flimsy. All I wanted to do was be in Tadashi's arms, and away from this mess.

Rye backed up, shaking his head, then turned and jogged off the way we had come.

I didn't realize my hands were shaking until the lady turned back to look at me.

"Did he hurt you?" Her gruff voice but kind eyes made me feel at home.

"Just mentally." I tried to laugh.

"Get in, I'll drive you home." I walked over to the passenger seat. I felt like I was in shock. With my uncle, I was a top dog. I was too useful to damage, and too high priority to piss off. This was like a cold slap in the face from reality. I wasn't special. I wasn't the only one. I probably wasn't even the first. And Tadashi was a target for two underground systems. I had to see him.

I slid into the leather seat, shakily putting my seatbelt on.

"Where should I drop you off?" I jumped at her voice.

"Can you-can you take me to the lucky cat cafe? My boyfriend-my boyfriend works there." She raised her eyebrows at me but shrugged.

"If you think that's a good idea." She pulled a swift U-turn, then turned onto a calmer street.

"Thank you," I whispered, but I wasn't sure if she heard.

"You did the right thing, getting someone's attention." I nodded stiffly. We turned once more, and I could see the cafe on the corner.

"My name is Ellamire, and if you ever need a favour-_anything_, I'll do my best." I picked up a napkin sitting in her cup holder and scrawled my number on it using a rusty pen that had been under my feet. "Seriously, anything." I tucked the napkin neatly back into the cup holder, and laid the pen with it. She stopped in front of the cafe.

I flew out the door at what felt like the speed of light, hearing her car drive off before I had even gotten the door open. In fact, the door wouldn't open. I stared at the handle, aghast. It was Sunday, of course. They closed at 6. I pressed my face against the glass, hoping to see Hiro's spiky head behind something.

"Ellamire?" I spun around at the sound of Tadashi's voice, and leapt into his arms. He braced himself on the cafe window, and dropped the basket he had been holding to catch me.

I heaved a breath, smushing my face into his chest.

"Hey, I missed you too." He laughed, but pulled away slightly to look at my face. My cheeks were damp.

"Ella-what's wrong?" He pulled me closer, but also dropped down a little so he was crouched, and I was hunched in a ball in his arms. "What happened?"

"A man, he-"

Tadashi's eyes went from kind to deadly in half a second flat. "Where is he?"

I blinked up at Tadashi. "No, no, please can we go inside?"

He scooped up the discarded basket, and held me close to him as we walked around to the back.

By the time we got inside and upstairs, I had calmed down enough to breathe normally.

Tadashi set me on his bed and threw his baseball cap off, totally missing his bookcase but not turning.

"A guy tried to kidnap me." I blinked rapidly, and Tadashi sat beside me and pulled me to him. "He-" I paused. How exactly was I supposed to say this? "He said he was kidnapping me and said he left you notes to not involve the police."

Tadashi stiffened. "Left _me_ notes?"

I sniffed. "That's what he said."

"What did he want?" Tadashi had been rubbing my back, and I closed my eyes.

"He said you were researching genetics-" Tadashi suddenly stood up, practically launching me to the other side of the bed.

He stormed past the paper room divider, and booted up his computer.

"What are you doing?" I stood up, and walked to where he was furiously typing. He opened a file labeled Mendeleev, and I half smiled at the reference. Pages upon pages opened, some images easily recognizable as a double helix, others I had no words to explain. And pages upon pages of typed research, some pages half filled with what looked like jot notes, others packed with paragraphs.

"Tadashi, what is all this?" I already knew. I asked anyway.

The last page opened before he replied, and the white document showed only a paragraph of writing.

**Let's make a deal. Ellamire doesn't have to die.**

I read the first line, and it felt like a stone had hit the bottom of my heart, then broke through and proceeded to tear through my stomach too.

Tadashi's hand flew back, and gripped mine.

**It's all quite simple. Do as we ask, and she lives. Don't, and we'll send you some encouragement.**

Tadashi's jaw clenched. He was furious, and it was easy to tell.

**Step one: don't call the police**

**Don't even whisper to the police. **

**We'll know. **

**And she'll die. **

To read direct threats made to your life was eye opening. I was a pawn. Just a pretty piece of leverage.

**Your work here is quite interesting, but could use a little extra. You have until Saturday to create a virus that targets certain genes. Good luck, Ellamire is waiting for you. **

"This-" Tadashi cleared his throat. "I don't know what to do."

"Would you have done it?" I whispered. "If they had taken me, would you have done it?"

Tadashi stood up, but our hands stayed linked.

"Yes."

I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him as close as I could. His arms looped around my waist, and pulled me even closer. I buried my face in the side of his neck, and tried not to cry.

"Ellamire, I'm sorry." He murmured, his breath on my neck.

"It's not your fault." I started to say.

"You guys are in my way." Hiro's voice punched a hole in our conversation, and I half looked at him. Why didn't they take Hiro? The kid in a baggy sweater and uneven teeth seemed an easier target. Why not his aunt then, either?

"Hey bonehead, do me a favour and don't tell Aunt Cass but Ellamire is going to stay here tonight."

Hiro shrugged, and sat in the chair and spun. "What's in it for me?"

Tadashi sighed, and backed up from me a little. "2 bags of gummy bears."

"Make it 3 and we have a deal." Hiro grinned wickedly, totally oblivious to the situation.

"Alright, alright." Tadashi ruffled Hiro's hair, against his protests.

"Just don't do anything gross okay?" Hiro stretched, then flopped down onto his bed, sending a couple loose machinery parts flying.

Tadashi pulled me behind the paper wall, and pulled it closed. He rummaged through his night stand and pulled out one of his t-shirts.

"Here, change into this." He chucked it to me, and as I turned to lift the dress over my head I heard Hiro walk through the room, then pad down the stairs.

"Where are your shoes?" Tadashi asked as I pulled my dress over my head. The air felt cool on my skin.

"I kicked them off so I could run away." I muttered, not really wanting to expand on the subject.

Tadashi's hand touched my bare back and I stilled, my arms already in his shirt.

"Did you recognize him?" He asked quietly. I slipped the fabric down over me, breaking the connection between us.

"No, but I would if I saw him again." I took a step towards Tadashi, and he automatically hugged me.

"I hope you never have to." He kissed the top of my head, making me curl my toes against the floor.

"What do you say we get to bed early?" He suggested, and I nodded against his chest.

He set me down on his bed, then picked up a pair of plaid pyjama bottoms off the floor. He changed pants quickly, and I got under the covers as he did so. When he took off his shirt, I joked, "you should be shirtless more often."

He chuckled, but he definitely didn't laugh as much as he normally would have.

"I could say the same for you." He winked, and slid in beside me. The bed had lots of room, but I cuddled up beside him anyway.

I fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.


	9. Chapter 9

**First things first I'm so so so sorry for completely dropping this story! I feel like I failed those of you who had been following it, and I'm going to try to make it up to you guys by actually having a solid update schedule. These past months have been hell for me, as I struggled with getting into my nursing program and ended up deciding to take a year off to work. Now that I have my plan all figured out for next year I have a crazy abundance of time now that I'm going to use to dedicate to this story, and my two others I have on WattPad. Speaking of, I would seriously suggest those of you reading this story here to move on over to ****Wattpad! Reading, commenting, and updates are so much easier. I'll still be updating chapters here, but seriously yo, Wattled is kinda the bomb. Again, sorry for not updating for so now. Without further ado, here's a long awaited new chapter!**

**Stay adorable, SabrinaBuns**

(•-•)

I woke up bleary and disoriented. Instead of seeing my pale purple room, I saw light blue walls and dark wooden slats. I blinked a couple times, then thumped back down onto Tadashi's chest when I finally figured out where I was.

"You're heavier than you look." Tadashi mumbled, his voice heady with sleep. I gasped, and lightly slapped his bare chest.

"You _never_ say that to a girl." I chided, and his arms found me after a couple attempts and he pulled me closer. I twined my legs around his, mentally high fiving myself that I had shaved yesterday in the shower.

I peeked around his side of the room, at the books neatly arranged, and I stared at the sunlight filtering through the paper screen. I squinted at the small gap between the wall and the screen.

"Did you move the wall divider?" I mumbled.

"What?" He threw the arm not under me over his eyes and I sighed.

"The screen isn't at the wall anymore."

"Probably Hiro." He heaved a huge yawn, making my head rise and fall along with his chest. "Or Mochi."

I hummed a response. I had forgotten about his cat.

"Boys!" The sound of Tadashi's aunt Cass calling up the stairs made my heart skip a beat and Tadashi's arm to stiffen around my waist.

"This is bad." He whispered to the top of my head.

"What do I do?" I squeaked. Sure, I had grown up with multiple tests conducted on my genes and myself on the daily, but had I ever encountered _this_? Not even close.

"Uh," Tadashi fumbled around on the floor with his free hand, and I lifted my head.

Spotting his shirt, I directed him. "A bit to the left." His hand clasped his white shirt, the one with the ninja design on it. I sat up, my hair falling around my face and I shoved it back, I would deal with the pink mass later. I slid out of his bed, letting his striped bed sheets gather at my waist.

"I'll go downstairs, uh" he pulled his shirt on over his head, and I resisted to giggle at his dark haired bed head. "Wait here okay?"

"Mmhmm." I nodded, and looked for the dress I had been wearing yesterday. He leaned over as if to kiss me, and I recoiled. "Don't kiss me, I have morning breath!" He laughed, letting his forehead fall to my shoulder, directly where his shirt had slipped down my skin. He kissed there instead, and then got up.

I watched him pad over to the paper wall divider and shove it aside. He stood in the gap and looked over to Hiro's side of the room and shook his head.

Moments later, I heard Hiro shriek, "_I was having the best dream_!"

"Sorry Hiro, Aunt Cass has been calling us."

"Couldn't it have waited five minutes?" Hiro's voice wailed, and I smiled to myself. "Just _five_ minutes..."

I watched as Tadashi appeared once more, this time with Hiro's legs hung over his shoulders, and Hiro himself slung upside down on Tadashi's back. In that moment I have no idea how I didn't laugh. Hiro and I made eye contact and he gave me a wave of grim approval, and I saluted to him, then blew him a kiss.

He crossed his arms and huffed. Tadashi looked back to me before heading down the stairs, and winked. I raised an eyebrow, then he padded down the stairs, while still carrying Hiro. I would have to wonder how he was so lean and yet could carry his brother like he was nothing some other time. For the moment, I had to put clothes on.

Standing up, I shivered quickly at the cool wooden floor on my feet, but continued on and made my way around the bed, scouring for my dress.

"Do you boys have any dirty clothes you want me to wash today?" I distantly heard aunt Cass ask the boys, and I held my breath. Would she come upstairs for that? I tugged my dress out from under the corner of the bed, not even speculating as to how it got there. Flinging Tadashi's shirt off with the speed of a bullet, I tugged on my black dress once more. It had wrinkled a bit, but most of all it had reminded me of just what happened yesterday.

They threatened Tadashi. And I was the root of the problem. I chewed the inside of my lip, debating on what my next move should be. Realistically, telling Tadashi the truth, and I mean the _entire_ truth, could be disastrous. The trust we had formed between us over the past four months would be shattered. He would fear for is aunt and his brother, if he wasn't already. In his eyes, they had tried to take me, but what was stopping them from taking one of them? I froze. Realistically, the only reason I could see why they tried to take me was because of my standing with my uncle. Two birds with one stone?

At a creak from the stairs, I scurried to the side of the bed not really visible, and gracefully fell to the floor. Holding my breath, I peeked over the top of the sheets, trying to get a glimpse of who it was.

"Ellamire?" Tadashi hissed, and I sighed with relief. He stood at an angle where he could see the top of my head, and I grinned at him.

"I had to take precautions." I joked, and stood up, smoothing out my dress with one hand.

"Aunt Cass is going to pick up supplies before we open, so now's our chance." He came around to me, and brushed off a bit of dust from the side of my dress.

"Thanks," I reached out and took his hand. "I might just keep you around."

"I'm hoping to keep you around." Our eyes met, and I wiped the smile off my face. Somewhere downstairs a door opened and closed, but we didn't break eye contact.

"Yesterday-" I started.

"Yesterday can't happen again." He said, steel resolve in his voice. "It won't. I won't let it."

"Tadashi-" I tried to speak again.

"Ellamire, listen." He took my other hand now. "Yesterday wasn't a joke."

"I _know _that, but-"

"We need to figure something out." He scanned the room. "I need to figure something out."

"I-"

"Ellamire-"

I snapped. "Would you let me finish?" I took my hands out of his, something I instantly regretted. "Yesterday was terrifying, and I don't know what to do."

I waited for him to interrupt again, but at his nod I continued. "I don't know if we should involve the police, or keep it to ourselves, or anything."

He looked at the floor. "Telling the police is the right thing to do." He said quietly, saying exactly what I knew he would say.

At a moment of silence, I drew in a deep breath. "Why didn't you tell me you were researching genetics?"

He looked up sharply, his brown eyes staring at me.

"I watched your uncle's lecture online, after meeting you," he started. "At first it was curiosity, but then I got pretty deep in some revolutionary stuff, but I convinced myself it was to help with Baymax." At my wrinkled brow he expanded. "I added in programming to Baymax, so now he can read genes, for genetic dispositions or something."

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"You still never told me." I whispered.

"I know how you feel about your uncle." He ran anxious fingers through his hair, and sat on the bed. "You never said anything, but I could tell you never liked him."

"Do you know why?" I dared to ask. I sat beside him, our combined weight making a V in the mattress and pushing our hips together.

"Did he..." He cleared his throat. "Did he test on your mother?" I stared at the wall in front of me. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, during his lecture, he alluded to something-" he jumped up, and picked his hat up off the floor. "I crossed the line-"

"No, it's okay." I blinked away the mist forming in my vision. "She was pregnant, with me. And uh," I toyed with the end of my dress. "He would inject her with things. At the start she thought it was okay, he had lied to her about what it was." Tadashi sat back down beside me but I didn't move. "Near the end, she knew. He, he would restrain her and force her to eat the pills, give her injections against her will."

"Ellamire..." Tadashi pulled me to him, but I remained stiff.

"My father was never in the picture. He just, vanished out of her life. As if he was never there." I stared at my hands. "When I was very young, I remember her talking to him, although she wasn't really talking _to _him." Now the liquid in my eyes had formed into real tears and I rubbed them away angrily. "Whatever my uncle did to her, it messed with her brain. She went crazy, imagining things, seeing and hearing people that weren't there."

"He should be arrested." Tadashi tried, but I barked out a harsh laugh.

"He was working with Krei Tech at the time. Alistair Krei stumbled upon my uncle's work and gave him a choice-either stop or leave the company."

Tadashi rubbed circles into my back, a small but effective gesture. I placed my forehead into the nook of Tadashi's neck and shoulder, and I drew in a shuddering breath.

I don't know how long we stayed there. Tadashi knew there were no words I wanted to hear, so he soothed me in the morning light. We sat there long enough for his aunt to return, and him to go downstairs, asking for the day off work.

I felt numb. For the first time, I had told someone a piece of my past that was actually true.

"We should go to the police now." I said after a while.

"You want to tell them about your uncle?"

I lifted my head from his shoulder and stared at him. I shook my head mutely.

"Oh," he nodded, and stood up, sending a sudden chill over me as he took the warmth with him. "Tell them about yesterday."

I stood up on shakey legs and mentally shook myself. _Get a grip_.

"Ready?" He asked after a moment. I patted my hair down, making sure it was semi-presentable.

I interlocked my fingers with his. "Ready."

(•-•)

In hindsight, I should have developed a plan on what to say _before _actually having to say it.

The policeman blinked slowly at me from behind the desk, his computer screen casting a glow on his bored face. Tadashi was looking at me too, although he looked encouraging.

"I was walking by Le Chien Noir, when a guy started to talk to me, and he had said he overheard me talking to my boyfriend, Tadashi," I waved vaguely at Tadashi, indicating this was him. "I had plans to hang out with him later and the man said I wasn't going to, that he was going to take me away to get Tadashi to do what they wanted."

The policeman blinked lazily at us. "And what did he want your boyfriend to do?"

"I don't know." Tadashi and I said in unison. I had mutely decided to pretend I knew nothing of the note left on Tadashi's files, and I guess he didn't want the police snooping through his research.

"Well, you're gonna get a call sometime in the next 48 hours, to arrange a time to meet with an officer to-"

"Isn't this a little more serious than that?" Tadashi stepped forward, leaning on the counter, almost knocking over a little tape dispenser. "My girlfriend was almost kidnapped and you're saying not only do we have to wait-"

"We have many important matters to deal with, I'm going to have to ask for your cooperation." The man sitting at the desk spoke in the most infuriating tone of voice. Almost like he didn't even believe what we were saying was true.

Tadashi backed up, and his face hardened. "You know what, never mind." He turned around, and pulled me gently along with him.

I looked back at the desk, and the officer shook his head and resumed typing something. He looked like he really couldn't care less.

Once through the doors, Tadashi threw his hands up in exasperation. "I don't get it! What if you really had been taken-or anyone else for that matter!" I stared at him, not sure what to say.

"Ellamire, this city isn't going to do very well for much longer if this is how this type of thing is dealt with!" I had never seen him this openly frustrated before. I opened my mouth to reply, but his face changed before I could formulate a good response.

"Tadashi," I tried, but he shook his head and started to walk back to his moped. "Hey! This'll work itself out, I'm sure-" he spun around then, and practically smashed his lips against mine, kissing me with a sudden urgency.

I blinked at him when he pulled away, and he carefully put my helmet onto my head. "What was that for?" I mumbled, and lifted my chin as he secured the straps.

"Because I never want to lose you, and I also think I know how to get Baymax to work."

I couldn't fully process the words my heart wanted to say, so I blabbered the first thing I could.

"I haven't brushed my teeth yet." I mumbled, and Tadashi looked like he wanted to laugh, but was too busy hopping onto his moped and reaching out for my hand to help me on.

(•-•)

"Honey Lemon has at least 40 extra toothbrushes in one of these drawers, I swear." Tadashi muttered under his breath as his hands threw open little steel grey drawers behind her work station.

"Can I ask why?"

Tadashi spun around with a purple packaged toothbrush triumphantly raised before answering. "Have you seen the height of that girl's heels?" He half grinned at me, "You learn not to question it."

"Okay," I nodded, and lightly took the toothbrush from him. "I'm going to go do my best to clean my teeth. How do you know Baymax is going to work this time?"

When I raised my eyes to meet his, a look of excitement had claimed his face, a smile showing off his perfect teeth.

"I'll tell you when you get back," he practically giggled, "come on hurry!"

I skittered to the washroom in the pair of Aunt Cass's shoes Tadashi _swore_ she wouldn't notice temporarily missing, and I almost slipped right into the washroom door.

"Get a grip." I scorned myself, and stormed into the silent bathroom.

It was surprisingly clean, considering the messy workstations of those who studied here. Glistening green tiles and a full wall length mirror greeted me.

I squinted at my reflection, pleasantly surprised to see I didn't look as disgruntled as I felt. Sure, I hadn't showered yet today but my hair was looking fine in the messy bun it currently was, and Tadashi's beige cardigan didn't _totally_ clash with my black dress from yesterday.

As I started brushing my teeth with Tadashi's cool mint toothpaste though, my true worries started to surface and I watched myself in the mirror as my brows started to furrow with my troubled thoughts. Tadashi knew about my uncle genetically testing on my mother when she was pregnant with me. He doesn't necessarily know if I'm a genetic freak because of it or not. Tadashi knows about my near kidnapping. He doesn't know about how much I really am aware of the situation behind it.

Strange dude Rye tells me I'm essentially being abducted. They want Tadashi's genius just as bad as my uncle.

I spat out the froth from my mouth into the sink suddenly, a cold feeling of realization suddenly washing over me.

Sasha, although the most annoying and scrawny ginger I know, had said my uncle was shaking things up, and going to use me for bait. Then that very day a total stranger, also _coincidentally _genetically modified like me, shows up and tries to keep me away from Tadashi?

He had to have been sent by my uncle, despite whatever story he had strung about following his father's footsteps.

I rinsed my mouth quickly, determined to get back to Tadashi.

"Your purpose is to heal the sick, and injured." I heard Tadashi's voice say as I rounded the corner, and despite the wild ideas flying about my head I was surprised to hear such joy in his voice, and a distinct lack of crazy mechanical whirring. "You are programmed to aid-"

I turned around the doorway into his work area, and he glanced up at me, his eyes practically twinkling.

In front of him stood Baymax, and as I took a few careful steps further into the room, Baymax's head turned with a plastic squeak, and the robot blinked at me. I probably looked absolutely stunned.

"Hello, I am Baymax. Your personal care provider." It's robotic voice said clearly, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise, then looked back to Tadashi.

He looked like a proud father at his kids first little league game.

"A personality." Tadashi whispered, and when it was clear Baymax was no longer a wireless hazard I strode to his side. "Too much programming made him overload on all the information." He beamed, "but with artificial intelligence, he has the ability to process it rationally."

I averted my eyes from Baymax to stare up at Tadashi's face. Before I could say a word he continued on.

"I mean sure, his main function is going to be stoic and helpful, but now his experiences will be saved in his chip, and he'll develop even when I'm not here to alter and fix him up."

I glanced sharply to the floor. "What do you mean when you're not here?" I accused quietly.

"Uh, well, when he's someone's care provider I mean." Tadashi shrugged, and I lifted my eyes to see his were averted away from my face. "And if anything were to happen..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I muttered. I hardly swore in front of Tadashi, and he sighed and turned his back on Baymax and I to look out the large window behind his desk.

"Tadashi." I spoke clearly this time, and I watched as his shoulder's visibly slumped as he realized I wasn't going to give up without an explanation.

"The people who wanted to take you away, they want me to develop a virus that can target people with specific genes." He said solemnly, and I swallowed nervously. "The thing that I'm afraid of is I know I can."

I felt like my heart had dropped down to my toes. I wanted to throw up just at the thought of Tadashi going against who he truly was to create something so evil.

"As long as I'm around, you're in danger." He ended with a whisper, and he let his words fade into the silence of the building.

"I'll be okay-"

"It's not just you." He spun around now, and I felt almost afraid as he strode purposely closer to me until he stood barely a foot away from me. I had to tilt my head up to keep looking in his eyes. "Hiro. Aunt Cass. My friends." He waved a hand gesturing to the hallway and the rest of the labs. "They're all in danger because of me."

"We can figure something out-" I tried, but he interrupted right away.

"I won't let anyone get hurt because of me."


End file.
